Meet Molly Long, the Choreographer Behind TikTok’s Viral Project 21 Dances
If you’ve spent any time scrolling TikTok the past year, there’s a good chance you’ve come across a dance routine so precise, so perfectly matched to a retro pop song, that you watched it more than once. If so, you’ve likely encountered the work of Molly Long, a choreographer whose routines for the competitive dance program Project 21 have exploded across social media and captivated millions of viewers.
The Clips That Went Viral
It started with a dance clip from Season 10 of Project 21 that circulated online in 2025. The video featured seven dancers — Regan Gerena, Chloe Mirabal, Savanna Musman, Madelyn Nasu, Berkeley Scifres, Bristyn Scifres and Sara Von Rotz — performing choreography by Long to the 1979 song “Pop Muzik” by M. The routine went viral.
Then came another Project 21 routine in February 2026, this one set to Frankie Smith’s 1981 track “Double Dutch Bus.” That clip gained attention on TikTok and has already accumulated more than 3.6 million likes and thousands of fans recreating the dance on the app.
What makes Long’s choreography stand out? Social media users have tried to put it into words. One wrote, “You can literally recognise Molly Long from a MILE away.” Another offered what may be the most succinct description of her style: “Her choreography looks like how the music sounds.” A third posted, “Haven’t been this captivated by art in a while.”
Those comments hint at a signature style so recognizable that fans say they can identify her work on sight.
A Life Built Around Dance
Molly Long was born on August 21, 1992, and is an American choreographer and dance instructor. She started training at age three at her mother’s studio, California Dance Academy, and later trained at Dance Precisions under her aunt Leslie Kenfield and instructor Shannon Mather.
The family connection to dance ran deep. Long described the environment in a 2020 interview with Dance Spirit: “My mom taught the minis, my aunt Leslie handled the juniors, and, when I turned 16, I also started working at the studio. I was never the best dancer when I was younger, but I absolutely loved being there—it felt like home.”
By 16, Long began teaching dance, focusing on younger students, and gained recognition for choreography in competitive dance circuits. Her early routines included “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “Single Ladies,” which brought attention to her work in competitions.
The “My Boyfriend’s Back” routine, featuring dancer Autumn Miller, proved to be an early breakthrough. It won national titles at Hall of Fame Nationals and Showbiz Nationals in 2009.
Between ages 18 and 22, Long freelanced as a choreographer, teaching workshops and setting choreography across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
Her choreography has appeared on television programs including America’s Got Talent, Raising Asia and Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. The accolades followed: Long received an Industry Dance Award for her jazz piece “Fever” and Best Jazz Piece at The Dance Awards.
Building Project 21
In 2015, Long founded Project 21, a dance training program based in Orange County, California. The program began with 20 dancers at the McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts and later expanded internationally.
As for the name? Long explained its origin in her Dance Spirit interview: “I wish I had a better story about the name. In truth, it’s a play on the fact that she was born on the twenty-first of August, and 21 is her favorite number. I was away on a teaching tour, the audition announcement was going live on Instagram the next day, and I desperately needed a name. Project 21 was just the least cheesy of the options I thought of!”
The Creative Process Behind the Routines
For those curious about how Long develops the choreography that has so thoroughly captured the internet’s attention, she offered a window into her creative process in a 2018 piece for Dance Spirit.
“Late, late at night is when I feel most creative. Even when I was 16 and was just getting started choreographing, I would always go into my bathroom and listen to the music at one in the morning. Maybe it’s something about the sleep deprivation that hits at that hour, but that’s when the ideas and plans and outlines come,” Long wrote.
From a three-year-old dancing at her mother’s studio in California to the choreographer behind some of TikTok’s most-watched dance videos, Molly Long’s journey has been shaped by family, early dedication and a creative instinct that millions of viewers are now discovering for themselves.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
